


Before Golden Flowers

by Isolato



Series: A Story Hidden In Code [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Childhood Friends, Children, Flower Crowns, Harm to Children, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Creature Harm, Multi, Playdates, lowkey doctor who references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 17:37:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6338719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isolato/pseuds/Isolato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before golden flowers ended her story, there was a human named Chara, who fell down the mountain and lived with monsters in the newly-forming Underground. This is her story, and the story of two small skeletons and their father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is the combined efforts of cult-of-sparrow of tumblr (getting an ao3 as fast as he can), and myself, isolato. This is written as a partial roleplay with the intent to be posted as a fanfic. As thus, be warned this has an omniscient point of view, and the transitions may not always be smooth. In addition, we are aware we are missing a lot of information and there are plans to add things and edit them in. However, we hope that nonetheless, you will enjoy our little story! We're quite proud of what we have so far, and we hope to have your ongoing support!

The monsters of the underground were pretty...interesting. They all cared, or at least, pretended to care. Chara wasn’t really sure how to interpret their behavior. She knew for certain that Asriel, the goat prince, had pretty much adopted himself as his big brother, despite the fact they were the same height, but whatever. She found his behavior...interesting.

However, the King thought that it would be a good idea for the little lady to get a checkup from Gaster. She was never afraid of going to the doctor - so she insisted to go alone, even without Asriel. It hurt his feelings, but she turned a blind eye to it.

She was dressed in an oversized sweater, a skirt, and some knee-high socks. She had thrown her sweater over her school uniform that she had to wear. Catholic School. She wasn’t entirely sure why she even had to go. If there even was such a thing as God, he must be the most apathetic creature to exist.

She saw her own way into the lab and found...a peculiar-looking man in a lab coat. She blinked up at him, clearing her throat.

“Doctor?” She asked, tilting her head. “You’re the doctor, right?” She was staring up at him with her unusually red eyes, blinking through thick, slightly wavy red hair.

Gaster had been told of the human falling down the day it had happened. After all, Asgore and he were in close communication, and when it came to humans… well, Gaster liked to consider himself true neutral on the topic. He simply saw them as possibilities for science, as he had made clear during the war. If it weren’t for him, actually, the knowledge of the boundaries of the human soul when pulled from the body would be unknown. He had merely advised Asgore to keep an eye on ‘it’ and keep him updated. 

When Gaster had received a call from the Queen, he had been more the polite and courteous to her, assuring that the child would be taken care of, and if she were injured, he would fix it. Toriel had been pleased with this and told him that she would be arriving. After he had hung up he made sure to have the nearest lab cleared, cleaned, and operational. He made sure to make it look as well, normal, as possible. He only had the tools he knew he would need for a simple check up. That wouldn’t be too hard, seeing as he had two sons that he would give check ups to. He made sure to have note paper for when he’d start the exam. He had never really gotten the chance to ‘research’ the younger humans. Their near death bodies were never found on the battlefield, after all.

When the room was all set, he busied himself in the entryway with looking over calculations on Sans and Papyrus’s growth development. He glanced to where the questioning voice was coming from and gave her a calm look, taking mental note of how red her eyes were. He’d certainly have to check the blood sample he planned on taking for her genetic code. Perhaps she had some albinism in her genes.

“Human?” He took of the reading glasses he had been wearing. “You’re the human, right?” He walked from behind the desk to look at her. The white light of his eyes quickly looking over her and any exposed skin for possible blatant injuries that he would have to take care of. After a moment her gestured to the open door to the lab. “Right this way.”

She didn’t find his joke to be particularly entertaining, so when he said it she was already moving forward towards the open lab. She slid onto the table that she was meant to sit on - she was short, but she pulled herself up, refusing to ask for help. Everything had to be done by her, of course. She glanced back at the Doctor. She couldn’t yet decide if he was studying her as if she were a patient, or something else.

Plus, there was something familiar about him. Something that reminded her of stories that were told to her of the war. But, she would have to think about it while he did his checkup.

She tugged off her sweater, knowing he would be probably very thorough, and waited for him to do whatever actions he needed to do.

Her features, though pale, were blank. She didn’t particularly display any one emotion over another.

Gaster shook his head as she walked on by and hopped up onto the examination table. Clearly the fall hadn’t seemed to obviously injure her legs, seeing as she was walking fine, nor her arms, seeing as she had pulled herself onto the table fine. He nodded to a green medical grade garment that was folded up on the table. “It seems as though you have never actually been to a doctors appointment. Put that on then I’ll take your height and weight.” He said dryly at first, and then in his normal tone. It was soft spoken but demanding attention, as he would put it, an obvious capital font.

He moved to pull out the blood pressure taking device, thermometer, and a small light. After which, he made notes of his initial assumptions from his observations on the notepad. He wrote in wing dings as to make sure if the child decided to try and snoop, she would fail. He also did these things so that Chara could change without the idea that he was watching her, because he really wasn’t. He didn’t exactly care to, seeing as she was presently functioning fine and not needing to have scrutinizing detail upon injuries.

She stared at him blankly before moving to get the garment, quickly shrugging off her skirt, shoes, and shirt and slipped on the garment that he had told her to get on. Once it was on, she moved back onto the table, folding her hands neatly into her lap. A habit, from having ‘manners’ drilled into her at that school.

“Ok. I’m changed.” She said, glancing back at him, and waiting, once more, for his command.

Gaster was still making notes about his assumptions on possible albinism in the fallen human, and the fact that she carried no obvious injuries from the fall. It was quite the fall, though she had landed in flowers. He made a note to look into doing some research on those too. He was in the middle of these notes when he heard her voice. He held up a finger, a silent way of saying one moment. He finished his writing almost a full minute later before setting the notebook aside.

“Alright, Changed. Hop down, and get on the scale.” He nodded to the scale next to the measuring tape for her height in the corner of the lab. “After which, go directly left of it so I can get your height.”

She got down, yet again, and shuffled over to the scale as was requested, standing still as she watched the numbers go up. Weight was meaningless. Height was meaningless. Sure they were numbers, but not exactly numbers she cared for. She sighed, waiting impatiently for the Doctor to finish his notes before she moved over to the measuring tape, pressing against it and looking at him with a bored, and slightly annoyed expression on her face.

Gaster took notes of the numbers, only wanting them for long term. If they weren’t in the underground, and she weren’t the king and queen’s adopted daughter, he probably would have experimented to see what might stunt or accelerated her growth. Then again, he did have two subjects he could do that on already. He made another side note on the paper for that idea. That caused for more delay of him standing there and making her wait. When she was back on the table though, he proceeded as normal. Her vitals seemed fine, and while she had some scratches there was nothing notable. On any average human check up, it would probably have been over at that. Instead, Gaster opened the drawer and pulled out a sterile needle and two vials, along with an elastic cord for her upper arm. “Lay down and give me your arm.” He ordered.

She watched him carefully, every movement, every facial expression. A lifetime of being silent and only watching people had made her keen to observe. Hell, if she hadn’t already decided that she hated this man, they might be friends. But, there was something about him that she absolutely despised and did not trust.

Naturally, that meant that she would be visiting him quite often. Know your enemy, and whatnot.

When he told her to lay down, she did so, extending out her arm. She knew what was coming next. She just stared off, examining the laboratory and trying to figure out what every little thing was for and meant. It seemed...pretty normal, actually. Nothing of note that would seem out of place, save for the writing was all in...she wasn’t sure what font or language that might be in. However, it was too normal. He wasn’t  _ just _ a doctor. He was a proper scientist. She wondered if she’d have to somehow get on his good side to see the rest of the place. Either that or, she’d just figure out how to study the place on her own and give herself her own personal guided tour.

Gaster drew the blood for one vial after putting the cold disinfectant on her arm. He filled up one vial, holding up the blood to the light for a second to look through the dark red liquid. He then pulled out another needle and drew blood for the second vial. He didn’t have bandaids handy, so he simply quickly wrapped her arm with some gauze. “It will bruise, but that is expected.” He said simply, stepping back after removing the band on her arm and placing the needles into a bin for them to be sanitized. The vials on the other hand, were pocketed after being sealed. “You may change, then see yourself out. Leave the gown on the table.” He informed, leaving the room and shutting the door, taking the used needle bin with him.

The moment he left her entire demeanor changed and she went from completely emotionless to a frown. She wasn’t an expert at doctors, but none of them took that much blood. She made a point to lightly straighten out the paper of the table, changing into her clothes, and making sure she was all in order before glancing at herself in the mirror.

Her arm hurt like hell - and he didn’t even properly bandaid it. Prick. Nor did he give her a lolly, which, to be fair - she had come to expect those. She frowned, looking around the office when he was gone to see if she could get her hands in something. She found nothing. Oh, well. She could cause him hell for it later.

After carefully folding the garment up and setting it perfectly on the bench, she opened the door and walked out of the room. She stared up at the Doctor, albeit with very little emotion before beginning to look around, wanting to wander a bit. She took her time leaving - seeing if there was anything - or anyone - of interest.

She didn’t find anything that interested her, so she made her way out towards the Ruins, sighing inwardly at this all. She didn’t quite understand why she had to put up with this. Oh, well. If he was an ass, she had plenty of tricks up her green and yellow striped sleeves.

Gaster looked down at the child with just as little emotion as her. It was the perk of having a skull and lack of face. He would have much rather been spending this time experimenting and looking at the blood samples, but he stayed in the main entryway to make sure that she would actually leave. He did not trust anyone alone really in his lab, except for himself. Any doors leading anywhere but out were locked. He watched her try to wander a bit then spoke up. “This is not the ruins where you can wander around carelessly. Shoo.” He actually walked to the door of the lab and held it open to emphasize the point of having her leaving. When the child finally walked out, taking her time about it to probably irk Gaster off further, he shook his skull and went back inside, shutting and locking the door behind him.

The path to the Ruins from where Gaster’s lab was was clear, the underground being quite small and not much terrain having been explored. Really, most monsters stuck to themselves and the path was empty.

As Chara was walking towards the Ruins, two monsters were walking back. Well, one was walking back the other was being carried. Papyrus really was a fairly small babybones and Sans was his proud older brother. He wanted to make sure that he was safe, and he’d try to keep him safe as best he could. Even from their dad. Sans could handle it though, so he told himself. The young skeleton had his brother in his arms, carrying him since he had fallen asleep. He saw Chara approaching and his already obvious smile grew a bit. He wasn’t able to wave, but the smile hopefully worked for making up for that fact.

“Knock knock.”

Oh. More monsters. Lovely. That’s definitely what she wanted to do - meet more monsters. She looked over at Sans and blinked. Knock, knock? That was one way to greet someone, she supposed. She sighed inwardly and glanced at him.

“Who’s there?” She asked, glancing down at the tiny skelebean that was his lil bro. She glanced back up at Sans, awaiting her answer.

Sans was only a little taller than the other, but not by much. He shifted his arms so that the sleeping babybones could be held slightly closer to him. It was instinct because usually the only other monster he interacted with on a daily basis was Gaster, and the result was Sans trying to hold Papyrus close. 

“Sans and Papyrus. Who are you?” He chuckled softly at his own joke of an introduction. He wondered what sort of monster she was, but he decided he’d ask later.

“I’m Chara.” She said coolly, blinking as she looked at them. More skeletons? That was curious. Did the Underground have a disproportionate amount of skeletons? That would be something to look into if she actually cared about the monsters. But, she didnt, so she wouldn’t bother with it. Instead, she just looked them over.

“Are you friends of Asriel’s?” She asked calmly.   
“Nice to meet you, Chara. Yeah, we’re also friends of his. Too bad Papyrus decided to goat to sleep.” Sans kept his smile, it the very definition of a toothy grin. He was tempted to move a bit closer to her, but he was still silently trying to figure out how much of a threat she might be to papyrus. He wasn’t scared, just weary. Sort of sad, seeing as he already had to think of that and was still a child.

“You on your way to the ruins?”

“Yes, I am.” Puns were lost on Chara, honestly. He was better off giving puns to the wind. At least the wind wouldn't hurt as much when it stared at him blankly and didn’t react. She saw him hold his what she assumed to be brother protectively and she almost would’ve smiled if she could. However, the sad and damaged child found happiness in very little. There was only what amused her and what failed to.

“Where are you heading?” It was cold out and she wasn't sure that he should be holding such a teeny skeleton outside.

Sans honestly would make puns into the wind, actually. It was a pretty good audience. While Chara’s blank look and lack of expression to his puns was rather disappointing, he didn’t mind. She didn’t seem to be turning away, so she was already a better audience than Gaster.

“Back home. It’s not far.” He gave a small shrug, the shifting causing the smaller bundle of bones in his arms to shift a bit and sort of cling to Sans. Papyrus was still sleeping though, so that was good. “It was nice to ruin to you, but we should probably keep going. Your cold shoulder isn’t helping the weather though” He joked.

She stared at him for a few moments, trying to figure him out. Did he think himself to be… funny? Honestly, innocent humor like that was wasted on her. There might have been a point in time where she genuinely liked them or even made them herself, but she had long had that habitually trained out of her.

She didn’t liked dwelling on the past. It made her who she was - for better or for worse. It was what she was told was correct, and that was that.

“Mm. Goodbye, then.” She did a little half-curtsy, as she had done to any that had earned even the tiniest shred of respect from her. At least, she believed that she might do well to have him like her, at least, until she was stronger, and it did not matter who liked her and who did not.

Sans stared back, keeping his smile on his face. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to be curtsy with me.” He looked down at his brother in his arms and shifted him so he was in one arm and over his shoulder a bit. The hoodie that was clearly a hand me down from someone bigger than him (maybe grillby?) shifting as he had to reach down to the pockets and he pulled out a colorful band-aid. He had no idea what Chara was, but he hadn’t seen one before. If she was a new monster well, it’d make sense that his dad would be involved somehow. She probably needed a band-aid. He went up to her and handed it to her with a grin. “Might help. I know the cold really stings.” And with that, he shifted his brother back into both arms and continued on his way. Gaster wouldn’t like it if they were really late, after all.

She stared down at the bandaid before looking back at him, blinking a little. The faintest of smiles played on her lips, and she waved to him a little.

“Hey, thanks, Sans!” She called, holding onto the bandaid tightly in her hand as if it was one of the most important things in the world. She’d go put it on at a later time.

She turned around, walking back into the house and greeting Asriel, who was likely waiting for her.

Asriel was, as expected, waiting by the door. He had a naturally soft nervous expression, but it washed away as soon as he saw Chara. He gave a wave and hurried up to her, his smile bright like the sunlight he had never really experienced. “Hi Chara!” He greeted, “How was the doctors? You aren’t sick are you? Or hurt?” His nervousness showing up in the questions and in the undertones of his voice.

Chara glanced over at Asriel. Her adoptive older brother. She wasn’t quite sure how to think of him quite yet - surely his desperation to make her like him would prove useful in the future, she was willing to bet. Well, if he wasn’t around so much she might be able to actually formulate a plan - one to get out of this place, and to finally get back at the people who wronged her. However, that last bit required power, something that she didn’t have. Yet. Then again, neither did he. However… she had started reading into the power of humans and monsters melding. What little information she could get, anyway. Asgore was all but silent on the war, and Toriel pretended like Chara didn’t hear her, so she learned very quickly to be quiet about it. Still, she would poke around in tablets that Asgore was starting to fashion, while he slept. It was hard, yet again - that stupid meddling goat Asriel liked to cling to her harder than a puppy and it’s new owner.

His doting broke into her thoughts, and she glanced back at him, hiding annoyance with a small smile.

“Hmm? Oh, no, I’m fine!” She smiled, holding out a band-aid. “I just gotta go put this on, and I’ll be fine.” She hummed. “Not sick. We can still play today.” Hide and seek. She was wondering where exactly she could hide from him that would give her extended alone time. Ah, well. It would be good ‘bonding time’ for the both of them. Necessary. 

“I’m going to go put this on and then we can play.” She told him, shuffling to their room so she could do so. She just hoped for the love of god that Torie-

“Oh, Chara darling, you’re home!” Toriel came rushing in, picking the girl up. Chara hated physical interactions of every sort, and her mind was basically  _ please stop touching me _ over and over and over again. She could just somewhat tolerate Asriel, but she especially hated adults interacting with her. It reminded her of the--   
“Let me down please.” Chara said, hiding her annoyed nature in a sweet tone. “I-I feel kinda lightheaded.” She stammered.

“Oh no! Are you alright?” Toriel asked worriedly, setting her down. “Do you need to rest?”

She shook her head, glancing up at her.

“No...say, do you have any chocolate?” Chara asked instead. It was her favorite treat. Something that the Dreemurrs learned quickly.

“Chocolate? Oh! Chocolate! The sugar should help you feel better!” Toriel smiled and moved to the kitchen to get a small square of the stuff. Chara sighed inwardly. She couldn’t get anything done here.

When Tori came back, she took the square of sweets and nommed on it gently, giving Toriel a quick, “Thanks mom” and running to Asriel’s room, glancing back at him to see if he was actually following.

The shorter goat child stood by his mom, his red tinted eyes widening at Chara mentioning her feeling light headed. Thankfully, his mom took care of the situation. Asriel wasn’t a fan of chocolate really, but there were some really good biscuits that he liked that Toriel had brought him as well, so that he wouldn’t be left out. He gave Toriel a quick hug, saying his happy, “Thanks mom!” Before pulling away to hurry after Chara who was ahead of him due to the quick hug causing him delay.

“Hey Chara, wait up!” He laughed, smiling happily and running down the hall after her, meeting her in his room.

“If you’re squeamish don’t look.” She told him, rolling up her sleeve and unwrapping the gauze Gaster had -too tightly- wrapped around her arm. There was an awful bruise and a scab and she quickly plastered the bandaid on it before he could see it for long. Even if it hurt to do so so quickly.

“...and there we go.” She hummed, turning back at him. “You ready to play, Asriel?” She asked, tugging her sleeve down and hopping off the bed.

Asriel immediately looked away looking at the ground instead until getting the all clear. He didn’t like seeing blood or injuries of any kind. It made him worried the other was hurt and the end result was him crying, usually. He brightened up a bit when Chara said that she was all set and still wanting to play.

“Yes!” He nodded eagerly, “I was sort of worried that you wouldn’t want to because you felt light headed.” He added softly, the shy demeanor showing. He was glad that he didn’t stammer any of that, seeing as he did that a lot when he was nervous.

“Nah, I’m okay!” Chara gave him a cute smile, wanting to comfort him. Despite her plans to probably use him - he was sweet, and well...he was the first shred of kindness in this little world of hers. She patted his shoulder awkwardly - again, she wasn’t used to physical contact, yet, but she could feel somewhat okay with doing it with him.

“Hmm….can I hide first?” She asked.

The smile did it’s job and Asriel was comforted by it. He smiled a bit more and nodded. He never really did say no to her, hoping it’d make her smile or be happy. He liked her smile, but wouldn’t actually say that out loud. He was too shy.

“Sure! How long do you want me to count?” He asked eagerly, just happy for the opportunity to play games with his adopted younger sister.

“Mmm….to twenty.” Chara mused, starting to formulate a perfect place to hide. She would probably go hide in their parent’s room, underneath the giant bed. It was nice and cozy and a perfect place to sit and think. 

When he started counting, she ran off to do just that, waiting patiently as she went to get lost in thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara visits the mysterious Doctor once more, running into familiar faces along the way.

When she finished counting, she sighed, beginning to search the house at a somewhat leisurely pace. She doubted he went outside - he didn’t like the cold. So instead she went in his room, checking there - underneath the bed, in the closet, etc. before making her way out to the living room, and then the kitchen. She opened the cabinet and smiled.

“Found you!” She said, patting his fuzzy head.

Asriel shifted a bit, waiting to be found. He heard Toriel leave and probably go to the sitting room to read or something. Soon enough, the door was opened and he was being pat. He giggled, finally letting it out and moved out of the cabinet. “Heh! You did! Good job!” He hummed, reaching up and fixing the longer bit of hair on the top of his head that he liked to consider his hairstyle.

“Thanks!” She smiled. “What do you wanna do now?” To be honest, that Doctor did take quite a bit of blood. She was feeling….a little sleepy. Hopefully he suggested a nap, or else...well, perhaps she’d just suggest it anyway.

Asriel thought a moment. The cabinet was quite dark. A little cramped, but it was warm and sort of comfy and he couldn’t help but let out a tiny yawn. “I um… know that you just got back and stuff but.. Would you want to just curl up in one of our beds?” He asked, stretching a little bit because he had been curled up in a small space after all.

“Okay!” She said, heading back towards their rooms. He was good for that at least. He was a fluffy little ball of heat and it made it very comfortable to lay with him because of it. She flopped down onto his bed, patting the spot next to her. 

“Come. You’re warm.” 

Asriel followed, having another yawn on the way there. He liked cuddling, and his bed had a few pillows because he’d curl up with them in his sleep. He giggled a bit. “Well um, I am covered in fur, so I’d hope so!” He crawled up on the bed and lay down next to her. He was just a tiny bit shorter than chara, but practically the same height. He put his arms around her and cuddled close.

Despite her adversity to anything physical, she liked this and he was warm and she sighed, closing her eyes and resting her arm around him. It was never hard to fall asleep when he was around - on the contrary, she fell asleep in a matter of moments. For the most part, she enjoyed it. With that thought, she drifted to sleep.

 

Chara made her way back down towards the lab, having gotten some free time as Asriel had laid down for a nap. He was a sleeper, that one. It meant she could explore the lab on her own time, the. Or at least make a nuisance of herself. After all, Gaster technically couldn’t kick her out. She was on equal terms with the prince, which made her a higher standing than him.

She was practically outside, when she ran into the two skelebros from earlier - one of them admittedly shorter than the other.

Sans was walking out, his hand holding Papyrus to keep him close. His bro had a habit of wandering so, he felt he had to. And because he wanted to protect him just in case. They probably should have left earlier but Sans had been quite tired and slow moving. The night before had been a long one for Sans, not for Papyrus at least, so he kept his smile as usual. He saw Chara and immediately moved to stand a bit in front of his younger brother. It was instinct and he didn’t really know Chara that well yet. He still gave a wave to her though.

“Knock knock.”

The tiny bean peeked out at Chara from behind his protective older brother, blinking as his fingerbones curled into Sans’s jacket. Who was this strange monster? He had never seen one like them before.

“Oh, hello Sans.” She said, glancing down at the tiny bean. “You must be Papyrus.”

!!! Papyrus hid behind Sans, burying his face in Sans’s coat. The monster knew his name?! Wahh!

“...Who’s there?” Chara asked, bringing her attention back up to Sans.

Sans looked down to Papyrus, reaching down to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He murmured down softly to Papyrus, “hey, it’s okay bro. Met them earlier.” He still didn’t move from his defensive stance and blocking of Papyrus. He looked back to Chara, glad that she had acknowledged the knock knock.

“Monster.” 

Chara blinked, knowing that this is just a silly little game of his that he was using. Oh, well. She decided to go with it, nonetheless.

“Monster, who?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, we’re skeletons, but I have no idea what sort of monster you are.” He, as usual, chuckled at his own joke, his hand rubbing Papyrus’s shoulder blade a bit to help the younger one relax.

“I’m not a monster.” She said calmly, glancing over at him. “I’m a human.” 

Papyrus peered out again once more, staring at her with wide eyes. A human…? ….He, actually had no idea what a human was.

“Whatsa hooman?” He asked, looking up at Sans for the answer. His awesome big brother knew  _ everything _ , so he had to know that! 

Sans seemed to be unphased by the statement of the fact she was a human. He decided to first talk to Papyrus, especially since he was impatient at times so it was best to get the questions out of the way first. “Her name is actually Chara, not A human.” He still joked. Then decided to answer the questions. “And a human is basically a type of monster that doesn’t live here.” He explained as simply as he could. Gaster never really told them much, so he was just going off of vague knowledge of conversations he’d hear between his dad and Asgore.

He again looked to Chara. “That’s pretty cool.” He answered to that statement. “Do you get a lot of mon-stares?” He was both a bit curious and joking. After all, she just looked like another monster.

“You mean like this?” She asked, giving him one of her deadpan looks. She was...attempting an interesting conversation. In her own way. She wasn’t really...adept at social interactions, much.

“....Yes, I do. Though, not from many. The King and Queen won’t let us wander much.” She hummed, glancing back down at Papyrus once more, who, if possible, would be staring at her with the biggest eyes a skeleton could give.

“Woah! That’s so cool! You know the King?” He asked, taking a step forward. She nodded, regarding him respectfully.

“I’m his adoptive daughter.” She responded coolly.

“Looks, like it.” He punned right to the deadpan look. He’d probably have a pretty deadpan look if he weren’t smiling. Was a bit surprised when she mentioned that. Then again, Asriel had mentioned having a sister. The goat kid didn’t talk much though, mainly goofed around with Papyrus and Sans would just watch them.

He let Papyrus step forward, but kept his hand on the shoulder. He still wouldn’t let his guard down.

“Oh that’s cool. They seem like pretty nice parents.” He hummed, though the way he said it had an undertone of something that wasn’t just light conversation.

Papyrus stopped, knowing that Sans knew best and, though this ‘human’ was friendly, that Sans knew if someone was dangerous or not. 

Chara nodded a little, catching his drift.

“They’re better than some.” She said calmly, looking up at the building. “What are you doing coming from the Doctor’s?” She asked.

Sans was silent for a moment, his smile almost sort of tense as he realized the question. Gaster’s lab was basically the boundaries of the underground, and going further past it ended up in unknown territory and well… it’d be kinda obvious that they weren’t coming from there, or heading past the lab the other day. He still kept his posture and demeanor really relaxed though, still rubbing papyrus’s shoulder.

“Tibia honest, we were just going to a friend of mines.”

“Is that so….” She mused, glancing at him. Yet another secret around the Doctor, then. She nodded a little, before glancing past him once more.   
“Mmm...well, then. I best be going, then.” She looked down at Papyrus, giving him the smallest of smiles. Little kids, or rather...littler kids didn’t bother her as much.

“Nice to meet you.” She said politely, giving a curtsy to the skeleton. Papyrus blinked. What sort of action was that? It was certainly an odd one. But, he smiled at her.   
“Nice to meet you too, hooman!” He excitedly pulled a little at Sans’s jacket before burrowing himself in the slightly open bit of Sans’s jacket, using it as half of a makeshift skirt so he could bow and tug at Sans’s jacket again, doing a tiny curtsy back.

Sans felt the tugging at his jacket and bent his knees so that his brother could have more jacket to work with. He chuckled a bit. He turned the attempt of giving Papyrus more jacket into a bow and looked up at her. “Alright, hope you don’t have a high femur” He joked, since well, he knew that Gaster claimed to be a doctor. He took Papyrus’s hand again to lead him along.

“Come on paps, ‘member Grillbz?” He hummed down to him as they started walking away.

“Yea yeah!” Papyrus bounced happily along his brother. “He makes the good food!” He was already forgetting about the curtsy.

Chara turned and walked into the lab, the clean, sterile air immediately putting her just the tiniest bit on edge. Now she was in the enemies’ den again, and she would have to be on her toes. So to speak. She never actually wanted to do ballet again - damned sport. 

_ It’s ladylike for a girl your age to do it! The Blasted Woman insisted. And so Chara obliged - fighting through chipped toenails and bruised tiptoes all the way to her first competition win.  _

She hummed - though it was more just pressing her lips together and silently blowing air through her nose as she looked around. Where was that Doctor, anyway?

The entryway of Gaster’s lab was completely empty a door leading down a corridor open and the frame of Gaster looking down at a microscope could be seen through it. He had a light blue glowing hand, with matching holes to Gaster’s own, taking notes in wingdings next to him. He seemed unaware of the visitor.

Chara didn’t mind that he didn’t seem to notice her, so she instead wandered a bit closer. She looked at the other doors, quietly testing them. Locked. Damn. Oh, well. She would have to bother the scientist himself. Which was fine, if he wasn’t a prick. And unfortunately, he was.

She wandered into the room he was in and peered over the desk - it was too high to see, so she just stared at him, waiting and watching until he acknowledged her.

Gaster didn’t really notice the other staring at him for a good few minutes, to absorbed in whatever he was looking at under the microscope. Finally, he felt the gaze heavy upon him and gave a lazy wave of his hand, making the magic one disappear and the pen making the short drop from the air to the counter the only noise for that moment. Finally he turned and looked at her, giving a placid look. “What is it do you want, child? This is not some playground.” He said cooly.

“I’m interested in science.” She responded calmly. She spoke incredibly articulate for a ten year old. Again, part of her ‘training’ and ‘conditioning’ as a child. That, and she spent so much time listening and watching rather than speaking of her own accord that she picked up a lot from listening to others.

Gaster looked at her critically, honestly skeptical. “Good for you, I don’t particularly care. Go back home.” He shook his head, turning back to his microscope. He was done looking at the specimen under it, but he wanted it to work as hint for her to leave him be.

“What are you studying?” She asked. When she realized there was no stool for her to sit on she attempted to jump up and physically drag herself onto the desk.

Gaster ignored the question, instead watching her with an almost amused look on his face as she struggled to get on the counter. “Science, though… I hope you realize the countertop is strictly for experiments only.” His voice remained cold, but had an ominous sense about it.

She stared at him for a few moments, deciding whether or not to challenge him. Slowly, she uncurled her fingers from the desk. For now. 

_ I want to learn science. Teach me. _ If she were a bit brattier, she would have stated the command outwardly. However, she knew that...she had to go through the goody-two-shoes route. For now.

“Can you pleease show me some science?” She asked, looking at him. 

Gaster huffed. He clenched his jaw and looked to her. “Science is too vague a topic. Narrow it down, if you’re capable.” The tone was a clear challenge, stated to test her knowledge and if she even had a clue as to what science she might be able to learn.

She smiled. Unfortunately for him, she had plenty of time to learn all about the branches of science in her impeccable education. 

“Well, I’m fond of astronomy.” She told him calmly - knowing full damn well that there were no stars nearby.

Gaster let out a measured sigh, almost a groan. “Is that why you fell down a mountain, in hopes of finding stars?” He replied dryly, shaking his head. He instead started walking back to the main entrance, taking the clipboard that the extra hand had been taking notes on and leading the way. “Pick something else.”

She made it a point to follow behind him - giving herself just enough time to glance around the room and take in some details, but not all. She would recollect them later - she had a bit of a photographic memory, that one did.

“Fine.” She said, trotting after him. “If I can’t study astronomy, why not…” She thought for a moment. “Chemistry?” 

Gaster thought a moment, and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “So be it.” He agreed, clearly begrudgingly. He had a feeling if he pushed her off for too long, he’d be getting a call from Toriel insisting he teach her, and that her child can’t have a poor education. 

He lead her to a lab, unlocking the door by using his magic to interact with it. It slid open and he walked through, a white sterile looking hallway. Another door and it opened to a room that looked as if it were straight from a science building from some university on the surface. 

She was curious about magic - but she wouldn’t ask about it. Not now, anyway. She wasn’t strong enough. She followed him into the room, looking around with wide eyes. It looked just like a human lab.    
Nonetheless, she looked specifically for safety gear - she was very clearly prepared to go on with this facade of actually wanting to learn Chemistry.

“What will you teach me?” She asked.

Gaster went to a cabinet, opening it and putting on safety goggles for himself, handing her a pair too. They clearly were too big for her but, not like his lab was designed for children to be part of it. He put on gloves as well, but didn’t bother giving her any. “Don’t touch anything.” He commanded, as if that were his reasoning as to why she didn’t get any gloves.

He lead her to a counter, pulling a nearby stool and putting it next to where he stood. “Nothing too dangerous or complicated. We’ll be experimenting with sulfur.”

She strapped them on, knowing she looked rather silly but not minding, and climbed onto the stool so she could properly watch.

“Sulfur. What with?” She asked, glancing back up at him.

Gaster got out chemicals placing them in front of a beaker, and putting in some sulfur into the bottom of it. “These.” He nodded to the chemicals placed and clearly labeled. Thankfully, actually in english, rather than wing dings.

“Well, I’m ready to watch, then.” She said, albeit with a bit of a sigh in her tone. It was no fun if she didn’t get to experiment, but at least she could quietly observe the room around her. And she was setting up the foundation for more interactions with him to come.

Gaster glanced over to her and shrugged a bit, as if shrugging off her sigh. “Good.” Honestly, it was the most he could do, and wanted to do, science wise with her. He saw her as a child and an opportunity for experiments that he could not have due to her adoptive family. He went through the chemicals, telling the reactions as he did so.

She listened, making a mental note of compiling them in her memory. She would have to hold onto them - should he quiz her, and ever test her real intent of wanting to learn science from her. Though, the test was incredibly boring, she did her best to endure, intent on making sure that she would be securing something of a…..relationship with him. If she could call it that.

“Do you do a lot of chemistry?” She asked curiously, glancing up at him.

“I do most all sciences.” Gaster shrugged. He was the royal scientist, so that meant he had to know plenty of studies. Some for work, some out of mere interest. The mere interest ones were usually not done, due to the ideas that morals were a thing. 

“And that includes astronomy.” He added, a dry hint at his voice as he made very subtle humor.

She nodded, showing him that she was listening and paying attention.

“I see.” She said, hopping off her stool. “Well, I’ll be back, eventually. I’d like to know more about all the sciences.” She glanced back at him. “Thank you for your time.” She wandered back out of the lab, once again lazing about in the main area before she headed for the main door.

Gaster gave a nod, and had to try very hard not to let out a grumpy groan at the fact she would be back. He took the goggles from her, taking off his own. He simply carried them as he followed her to the entryway. He wanted to make sure she would leave. He watched with clear disapproval of her actions and was glad when she finally left.

 


End file.
